


Empty

by Sanolyn



Series: Soriel Week 2017 [7]
Category: Undertale (Video Game)
Genre: Angst, Body Horror, F/M, Inspired by the Amalgamate AU, Only without the Amalgamate, Sick Character, Sorielweek2017
Language: English
Status: Completed
Published: 2017-08-06
Updated: 2017-08-06
Packaged: 2018-12-11 21:05:05
Rating: Teen And Up Audiences
Warnings: Creator Chose Not To Use Archive Warnings
Chapters: 1
Words: 1,961
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/11722548
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/Sanolyn/pseuds/Sanolyn
Summary: Toriel's dear friend from the other side of the door wasn't the same lately.Entry for Soriel Week 2017 (Prompt 7: Free Day)





	Empty

**Author's Note:**

> My very last prompt. I'm so happy that I could participate in Soriel Week. :3  
> Anyone who follows Soriel Week probably knows which AU got introduced on Day 7. This is an alternate Version. 
> 
> For everyone who doesn't know about the AU the Soriel Discord came up with it. Inspired by a post by member shroom and Zarla's Sixbones AU the Discord discussed how a Sans and Toriel Amalgamate would work.
> 
> While I love sick characters and some Angst the Amalgamate was too heartbreaking to write. Have a sick Sans instead. :D
> 
> This all couldn't have been possible with the help of my beta [raritysdiamonds](http://archiveofourown.org/users/raritysdiamonds/pseuds/raritysdiamonds) thank you for putting up with me over the whole week. I'm so glad that you did. Everyone reading this should check her amazing writing out.
> 
> Without further ado prompt number seven.

It began slowly and subtly.

Toriel, as a matter of fact, always loved to talk to her friend from the other side of the door. Trading jokes was such a mundane, yet enjoyable activity. A breath of fresh air for one who had always been treated like a queen. His laugh was the most beautiful sound, and his laid back, yet ever so caring personality was truly lovely.

He just didn't seem the same lately.

Yes, he would laugh at her jokes and tell his own occasionally, but the soul behind it was gone.

She had wondered at one point if it was her fault. Toriel was sure she had never said anything to upset her dear friend.

At first, she hoped, he was just going through a difficult time. That he would one day just bounce back to his old self.

Toriel knew that her friend kept his own secrets, but she had hoped that he would tell her if it was urgent and weighed on his mind. She herself made sure to at least tell him vaguely if something had worsened her mood.

However, thinking about it wouldn't help her and certainly not him. Toriel was a woman of action.

\--

"heh, good one," he said quietly, chuckling, but it faded out as if he was lost.

Yet again, it seemed her friend from the other side's mind was elsewhere. He was only half-heartedly telling jokes and had avoided every personal conversation she had tried to start.

Toriel had had enough.

"What is wrong?" she asked.

The resulting silence was too long for her, feeding even more into her worries. Her friend had never been so quiet.

"i - don't know what you're talking about."

"Please, don't lie to me, my friend. You have not been quite yourself for the past few days. I don't know your name. I will not tell anyone else. You know you can trust me...I trust you and I want to help you."

She heard readjusting on the other side and then a small muttered answer.

"but you will forget," he said.

How would he even know? Why did he seem so sure of this? She felt almost angry, but he sounded so lost that she couldn't bring herself to reprimand him.

"What makes you so sure?" she asked.

"everyone does," he stated.

His dry chuckle afterwards was sarcastic and dark - almost slightly insane. It seemed so empty, and she suddenly knew exactly what was wrong with him.

He was empty. She was talking to the shell of her former friend. She wanted to say something, anything to make him feel better, but then she was interrupted.

"do you know what it's like, to try over and over again and not to change anything?" he asked her.

Pictures of children flashed in her mind. Children she wanted to save, but could not.

"it feels like nothing i do makes any kind of sense. it doesn't matter if it just ends up back where it started. i - i just want to have a break for once. it doesn't matter anyway, right?" 

It was as if she had opened a dam that wouldn't stop overflowing.

He laughed. "no one would remember if i just fall over. no one would care as soon as the anomaly resets..."

Her soul jumped in terror. He could not be implying that he wanted to fall. Did he really think no one would care? She didn't understand fully what he had meant, but she feared she understood what was about to happen.

"I would! You are important to me, to your brother! Please! Don't! Don't lose hope. I am here. You can tell me everything!"

"don't worry. after a few days, it will be like none of it ever happened," he whispered.

She heard him trying to stand up, and then a groan of pain. She whirled around and looked at the door. The door that had always separated them. That was her one and only protection from the kingdom that she had started to resent.

The life of her friend, her very own lifeline, was without question more important. She threw the door open.

Her friend, a small skeleton, slowly staggered in the direction of the bridge. Before she could reach or call out to him, he had already collapsed onto the snowy ground, lying there completely motionless. White flakes fell onto his still form.

She ran as fast as her legs could carry her and carefully picked up the unconscious monster.

Toriel had never seen him before - though she had hoped it would have been under happier conditions. Her soul fell at the sight of his ashen face and dark shadows beneath his eyes.

Her vision blurred as she tried to form a plan. He needed help, she just didn't know where or how to get it. She held the monster in her arms closer.

It was as if the stars had sent her the figure that seemed to approach her in the snowstorm. She just ran towards his direction, slowly making out more of the monster that approached her. He was tall and wore something striking-red and flattering. She wanted to explain, words ready to spill from her muzzle before she saw him clearly.

He looked exactly like her friend described his little -

"B-BROTHER?"

\--

She found that her friend had never exaggerated about young Papyrus. At first, she had feared how he would react.

It did look suspicious if a complete stranger was carrying the unconscious form of your brother.

However, Papyrus had immediately and correctly assumed that she wanted to help. He had reassured her that everything would be alright as soon as he saw her unshed tears. He was so confident, so sure that Sans - that was his name, she discovered - would make it through.

He told her how a friend of his bragged about a scientist that could wake the nearly fallen. She prayed that it was the truth.

She saw some wary looks, but she paid them no heed.

Sans was more important.

\-- 

The Royal Scientist was a young lizard called Alphys. She had a very noticeable lack of self-confidence, which Toriel found was inconveniencing. Both herself and Papyrus had to beg and reassure her to persuade her to try her thesis.

Sans was about to die, she didn't think anything could make his current condition worse.

As his brother looked away and Alphys prepared everything for the procedure, she took his hand and asked him silently to promise that he would wake up again.

Toriel knew Sans kept his promises, and she was desperate.

\--

It was the next day that he had woken.

He shot up, eye-sockets opening wide, and regarded his surroundings with utter confusion. Toriel and Papyrus sat next to the small bed Alphys had provided for him.

"I KNEW YOU WOULD WAKE UP, BROTHER!!  NOT EVEN YOU ARE LAZY ENOUGH TO GIVE UP ON LIFE! NYEHEHEHEH!"

He gave his older but shorter brother the most enthusiastic hug Toriel had ever seen. Small drops of water formed at the corners of his eyes, and at that moment Toriel knew that he had been just as worried as she was. He just hadn't let her see that.

Sans' slightly fuzzy eye-lights had found her and she felt her soul fluttering. He was alive and she couldn't have been happier.

"Glad to have you back, Sans."

Before he could answer, he was squeezed by his brother again. He returned the hug and closed his eye-sockets. Toriel felt as though he had made an important decision in his mind.

\--

Her happiness didn't last for long. Not much later, Sans swayed to the side and leaned heavily against the wall. His eye-lights flickered and he desperately gripped at the clothing above his soul.

He looked horribly ill.

She immediately ran towards him, holding him up. He was warm and disturbingly malleable. He gave her a lopsided grin and pushed himself weakly away, stumbling onto the ground. 

"get help. don't worry, just go," he muttered.

Toriel tried to get closer, but he just pressed himself further into the wall, looking at her almost pleadingly.

"tori, please. it'd help me too."

She felt herself shake, but she nodded and ran to Alphys. A small inquiry flitted across her mind, but it was honestly the least of her problems. Sans needed help.

It was completely irrelevant that he knew her name despite her never telling him. 

\--

Toriel and a very scared royal scientist reached Sans in a matter of minutes. 

Toriel gasped as soon as she saw what was happening to him. He was hunched in on himself, not meeting her eyes. The white matter his 'bones' were made of dripped slowly to the ground. It ran down his body, slowly malforming his frame. Body parts that shouldn't be stuck together suddenly were, details completely lost.

 He was melting. She nearly stumbled back.

 "s-sorry..." he mumbled. "sticky situation, eh...?"

 "S-Sans...Oh, Sans."

How could he pun at a situation like this? Her vision started to blur again and she glared at the scientist next to her, who was standing there in complete shock, her expression frozen in what Toriel assumed was utter horror.

"Don't just stand there! Please! Do something!"

Alphys nodded immediately and looked at him, at a complete loss. She was starting to fidget and shake.

"I-I don't know r-really. It might be an effect of the d-determination and I - it's all new and I just tried. I t-told you I didn't -"

She did tell her, and Toriel should have known herself. She should know that it wasn't the fault of the poor intimidated lizard next to her, but she couldn't look at the overly apologetic monster.

She slowly approached Sans and hovered her paws above his body, afraid to destroy him even more.

"Please, tell me. Can I help you somehow...?" she asked.

She concentrated her own healing magic above her paws.

"N-no! I-I think m-magic makes it worse!" Alphys shouted.

Toriel simply looked at her.

"What do you propose, then?" she asked, flatly.

Alphys looked at her as if she was about to attack the young lizard.

"h-hey...can someone get me something cool? k-kinda hot in here," Sans rasped out.

"W-we should get him to lie down," Alphys said.

Her command was quiet and shaken, but Toriel would take any advice she could get. She picked Sans up again, carefully, trying to avoid the melting matter. He seemed grateful, if very pained.

"I - I shouldn't have -" she began.

"tori, you tried -" He groaned. "tried to save me...'m sorry. for being selfish and just giving up. you were right when you told me it would hurt the people i care most about..."

Her soul was racing from the adrenaline and fear, but also his heartfelt admission.

"You had your reasons, Sans. I just wished I could have helped you feel better," she told him.

"you did everything that could be done. won't do this again. i promise..."

It was too late now, but she appreciated that.

"Thank you..."

His grin looked so deformed now, but it seemed genuine and that was all she needed.

He shakily raised his hand and Toriel took it immediately. No words were needed to convey that they would get through this together. She tried to shoo her overwhelming feeling of pity and dread away. He had helped her so much.

It was now her turn to help him.

\--

Some meters away, a yellow flower watched them all with a very amused grin.

This was new. 

He knew already that he would eventually get bored of this and probably reset, but he would watch first.

\--

On another note, Sans would actually keep his promise; he would never do it again.


End file.
